Kaong

Kaong is the fruit of the sugar palm tree. Translucently white in color and chewy in texture, the cute-sized fruits are a popular ingredient in haluhalo. They sort of look like very girthy jellybeans!

Where Does Kaong Come From?

The particular palm tree from which kaong is picked has the the scientific name Arenga pinnata.

Each tree can have literally hundreds of hanging kaong nuts!

The Kaong Harvester, aka The Kaong Picker.

How Green Kaong Fruits Turn Into White Jellybeans

The green-skinned fruits are cut in half and the white jellybeans are plucked out!

Most people have no idea where kaong comes from… not what the “coconut palm nut” tree looks like, what the fruits look like on the tree, and especially not how the fruits/nuts are harvested. Many thanks to Ridzlowell Tarronas for sharing these photos!

Of course for most of us, we’ve only known of kaong as coming out of a bottle or a jar full of sweet syrup! You can even find sweetened kaong in different colors, including red and green!

** Trivia: This palm tree sap’s most common byproduct is an alcoholic drink called tuba, which when fermented turns into vinegar. Tuba? Vinegar? Kaong? Who knew??